Chapter 39-46 Summary

Rodrigo asks Norton for permission to land on the Hermian probe and disable its explosives. He says that he has the technical skills required to perform the mission and that there is no way for the Hermians to counteract his actions before the bomb is actually disabled. After debating the ins and out of Boris Rodrigo's proposal, Norton agrees and allows him to sabotage the probe.

Lieutenant Rodrigo leaves Endeavour aboard a space scooter and lands on the Hermian probe. A few minutes after Rodrigo's departure, Norton receives a message from Mercury telling him to gather his staff and leave the vicinity of Rama within the hour using maximum acceleration. By then it is too late for Norton to contact Rodrigo and the commander decides to ignore the message completely, hoping that the Hermians would rather delay their action than destroy...